US President Donald Trump and late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein shared a close relationship, with the latter calling Trump his “best friend”, according to a New York Times investigation published on Thursday. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of underage girls. He held close associations with several influential people, including business tycoons and celebrities. In November, Democrats released emails that suggested Trump was aware of the financier’s sexual abuse and definitely “knew about the girls.” According to the NYT, while Trump was not found implicated in Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of minors, it appeared that the two men’s relationship was “far closer” than what the US president maintains. “Beginning in the late 1980s, the two men forged a bond intense enough to leave others who knew them with the impression that they were each other‘s closest friend,” NYT reported, with Epstein reported to have claimed that he w...
Altcoin blockchains are preparing for long-term quantum risk, while influential Bitcoin voices disagree over how and when it should be addressed. Quantum computers still cannot break Bitcoin, but several major blockchains are preparing for a future in which they might. In the past week, Aptos proposed post-quantum signature support as Solana tested quantum-resistant transactions. Meanwhile, parts of the Bitcoin community renewed calls to accelerate work on quantum-safe upgrades. These developments point to a growing anxiety across crypto. Investors argue that dismissal of quantum risk by influential voices is weighing on Bitcoin’s (BTC) price, which has dropped 24% over the past three months. Read more
Bubblemaps says 23 wallets tied to the Ava deployer sniped 40% of the AVA supply at launch. The Solana AI token later fell 96% from its peak. Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps said a cluster of 23 wallets linked to the deployer of the Solana-based AI token Ava accumulated around 40% of the token’s supply at launch, raising new questions about insider coordination around the project’s debut. The sybil wallet cluster related to the deployer shared similar patterns, including being funded in a tight time window through Bitget and Binance, receiving similar amounts of Solana (SOL) and having no blockchain activity before buying up the Ava AI (AVA) token supply at launch, Bubblemaps claimed in a Thursday X post. “Connected to these snipers are other wallets that also bought $AVA early. Similar funding sources, sizes, and timing strongly suggest coordination across these clusters,” they said. Read more
Airport authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cancelled or delayed dozens of flights and roads were flooded in major cities as the heaviest rainstorm in months lashed the desert nation on Friday. Dubai’s Emirates airline axed 13 flights on Friday and there were also delays and cancellations at neighbouring Sharjah’s airport after the overnight downpour, which woke residents with lightning flashes and loud cracks of thunder. Sharjah’s main street was completely flooded early on Friday, with residents seen wading through it in bare feet. One man rode his bicycle through the water, which reached the top of its wheels. The scenes evoked memories of April 2024, when record rains caused widespread flooding and forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights at Dubai’s major international air hub. On Thursday, Dubai police had urged residents to stay in unless “absolutely necessary” as the rainstorm approached. Early on Friday, water-pumping trucks were seen around Dubai clearing blocked roads and large p...